If you were to ask people in India if kathal is a fruit or a vegetable, chances are, that half of them would claim it is a fruit while the other half would assure you that it is a vegetable! There is no wrong answer here as both versions are correct. This is because in the South it is largely eaten as a fruit and the sweet, yellow pulp of ripened kathal is very popular. In North India however, it is cooked like a vegetable curry and is something of a delicacy that is served on special occasions or at home as a high treat. As I lived in South India for a major part of my childhood I didn't get to eat Kathal Ki Sabzi, as kathal was not available in it's unripened, raw form. It was only later, when I moved to North India, that I learnt to savour this amazing vegetable.
Even though I began to relish eating this vegetable, it was a fair while before I attempted to cook it. At first, the very appearance of kathal, with it's thick spiky skin, spooked me! Not for me, thank you very much! I was so sure that cooking such a daunting looking veggie had to be pretty cumbersome and time consuming. Over time however, my attitude to cooking kathal began to thaw and, by observing my mother in law and others cook it, I gained confidence and started cooking it. So, was it worth the effort of learning to cook it??? Most definitely, YES!! I rate Kathal Ki Sabzi way up there, among the best of vegetarian dishes. Haven't tried it yet? You don't know what you are missing!!!
Ingredients:
250 gm kaccha kathal ( raw jackfruit), cut in mid size pieces
2 onions, one chopped, one blended
1 tea spoon garlic paste
1 tea spoon ginger paste
1 tomato, blended
2 table spoon yoghurt
Salt to taste
1/2 tea spoon turmeric powder
1/2 tea spoon red chilly powder
1 tea spoon coriander powder
1/2 tea spoon whole spice powder
Whole spices: 1 tea spoon cumin, 4 cloves, 1 black cardamom, 1 inch cinnamon, 1 bay leaf, 1/2 tea spoon black pepper corn, 2-3 green cardamom
4 table spoon oil
Coriander leaves, chopped fine, for garnish
Method: Wash and dry kathal. Heat oil in a heavy bottom pan and deep fry the kathal pieces. Do not brown, just fry lightly. Take out and keep aside. Finely chop one onion. Blend the other onion along with ginger, garlic and tomato. Chop coriander leaves.
In the same pan, remove excess oil and add whole spices...cumin, cloves, black cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf, pepper corn and green cardamom. When they begin to crackle add chopped onions and saute till they turn light golden. Add the blended onion, ginger, garlic and tomato. Also add turmeric powder, red chilly powder, coriander powder and salt. Stir till the moisture in the mixture dries out. Add yoghurt and saute some more till mixture leaves oil. Add the fried kathal and whole spice powder. Stir for a minute or two to enable the prepared spice mixture to coat the kathal. Transfer to a pressure cooker and add about a cup of warm water. After the first whistle, lower flame and let it cook for a couple of minutes more. A lot depends on the quality of kathal. If kathal is tender, you need to cook less and if it appears a little tough, cook some more. Before serving garnish with coriander leaves.
Instead of frying the kathal pieces, you can lightly boil them before adding to gravy. On opening the pressure cooker, if you find kathal has absorbed more water than anticipated, add some more warm water and simmer for a couple of minutes.
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